Living close to the center of the free world, my appreciation for the military and the significance it plays in our world has grown; as has my respect.

Last weekend, Robyn's uncle, David Dunaway, was promoted to Vice Admiral for the U.S. Navy. Taking over command of the Patuxent Naval Base, David hosted the families for a long weekend of ceremonies, dinners, and bay-side play in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

Teaching the boy about shadows, depth, and how to sketch on a table during dinner. I still think ALL restaurants should have butcher paper to sketch on during dinner, some of the greatest ideas come from when you're nothing thinking at all.

Jaxson's pint of beer sketch on the left; my sketch of the windows on the right.

Based out of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Urban Pirates is a pretty sweet little adventure for the kiddos and with Jaxson's current infatuation with anything pirate, it was a great find by Momma Robbie. Boo hooked us up with some tickets and Jax brought a friend and the rest is history.

We fought rival pirates, recovered the treasure, and screamed "pirate-booty" and "poop-deck" as often and as loud as we wanted cared to do.

Incredible how fast life speeds by you; it's cliche and you don't realize it until later, but time really does fly by.

Incredible how much my boy means to me and how much of me I see in him. He's grown into a boy of his own.

He's a caring child that is a natural born leader. He's a protector of his sister. He's a good student (so far, it's only been two weeks in school - but we'll keep our fingers crossed). He's a creative mind that enjoys doing rather than watching.

One of my strongest memories growing up in a small town in Texas was Friday night football. On Friday nights, if you weren't at the football game, the you weren't where you needed to be.

The sounds of the band, the smell of the grass and food, the sights of the droves of people coming together for support of their team and community - it all makes for a perfect combo.

Friday night we attended Mimi Coon's high school where she is the vice principal, Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, VA. To kick-off the season, the school had an open door tailgate party with games, food, activities - all the get the home team crowd ready for kick-off. I was extremely surprised at how much of a small town feeling existed and how much it reminded me of my home town. A small field out in the country side with nothing around it except the school campus, trees, and supporters.

BEING at the, however, makes you relax - not just feel relaxed. Even when the kids almost out number the adults, it is still relaxing.

Since moving to Maryland last year, we have made some incredible friends. Friends of friends have become our dear friends and we are now veterans at taking vacations together - this being the second out-of-town trip, with the first being Yogi Bear Park.

Delaware is not typically associated with beaches; however, Delaware has some great spots. We went to Rehoboth Beach over the Labor Day weekend, and as usual, we had a blast and can't wait for our next trip together.